According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 2 million Iraqis have fled their country since the war began in 2003 – a humanitarian crisis that is growing daily. Syria is host to more than one million Iraqi refugees, a far higher number than have sought safety in any other country. The P-I's Larry Johnson is part of a group, sponsored by the Seattle chapter of the United Nations Association, that is in Syria looking at how these refugees are coping in their host country and how their presence in such high numbers is affecting Syria.

Aleppo shining through the haze

ALEPPO, Syria – The sun rose around 5:30 as I sat in the Mirage Palace hotel’s breakfast room this morning – floor to ceiling windows on the 11th floor – looking out as far as the eye can see on the rooftops of office buildings, slender minarets and mosques and in the center of it all, an ancient fort high on a mountain. The sun rose up behind the fort, doing its best to cut through the haze and smog. In the distance I could see a power plant churning out funnels of smoke over the city. But later the sun burned it all away and the city was shining on its own.

We are meeting this morning with more Iraqi refugees and having dinner with a doctor from Iraq who, hopefully, will have an update on depleted uranium in Iraq (the Agent Orange of our time) and cancer rates among the people there. Even Syrian doctors and others have mentioned that they have seen horrific cancers and deformities in Iraqi refugee patients, especially infants.